


A Lifetime of Memories

by SingingInTheRaiin



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Gen, brief reference to the Day of the Doctor, happy ever after, the Doctor finds another time lord
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:07:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25092076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: The Doctor meets and befriends a Time Lord who is unique in that they live with all of their regenerations at the same time, all the time. It is good for the Doctor to have a friend to support him while he waits for the day he'll get to see Rose again.
Relationships: Eleventh Doctor/Rose Tyler, Ninth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Rose Tyler, Twelfth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Kudos: 54





	A Lifetime of Memories

The moment the Doctor opened the TARDIS doors, he got an ear splitting headache. He was so unused to anything being in his head that it took him completely by surprise. He had to slam the door shut, and take a few moments just to breath. He tilted his head back to look up at the ceiling. “Where are we?” The TARDIS gave him no answer.

He wasn’t sure if it was wise to try exploring this unknown place with its unknown effects on him, but the Doctor had never been one to back down from the unfamiliar. And besides, if there were telepathic beings around here, then he’d be interested in meeting them. 

So after taking a few more deep breaths to try and prepare himself, the Doctor stepped outside. This time the assault wasn’t quite as bad, since he was able to expect it. And when he took the time to concentrate, he could easily figure out that it wasn’t meant to be any kind of attack against him. 

The Doctor walked forward, carefully taking in his surroundings. He seemed to be in a forest, though when he craned his neck back, he couldn’t even begin to see the tops of the trees. Despite the dense foliage there was still plenty of light. The tree trunks themselves all seemed to glow. 

He quickly realized that whatever was sending out that telepathic signal was in a single location, and was not caused by the planet itself. With that in mind, he began to follow the signal, turning in whichever direction made it appear the strongest in his mind. 

After a while of chasing around the signal, the Doctor suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. Now that he was closer to the source, he could identify it, even if it was something that was unfamiliar to him after so much time without it. He was near another Time Lord. No- several of them. 

Unable to focus on whatever potential dangers might be out there, or the idea that this might be some kind of trap, he began running, superior stamina allowing him to keep going long after lesser species would need to stop to breath. He saw that the light around got brighter, and it took a few minutes for him to realize that it was because he was getting near an exit from the forest.

When he emerged, he was pleasantly surprised that the natural lighting was dim enough to not seem blinding after the soft lights that the trees emitted. He wasn’t sure if that was because of the time of day, or just a normal quirk of this place, but either way he appreciated it.

Now that he was out of the forest, the signal was much stronger and clearer, and he was tempted to scan the trees to see if they had natural dampening properties, but then decided that that wasn’t his biggest priority at the moment. Instead, he just kept walking forward, following the signal with more ease than before as he walked through a small grassy field, and then eventually came upon a house.

It was a very big, nice looking house, and the Doctor reached into his pocket to run his fingers over the psychic paper before he walked up to the front door and rang the bell. 

The door swung open after a moment to reveal a face that he didn’t recognize, but he didn’t have a single doubt in his mind that he was staring right at a Time Lady. She seemed as surprised to see the Doctor as he was to see her, and they just stared at each other for several very long seconds before she finally cleared her throat. “Er, hello.” They continued to stare at each other.

Then the Doctor realized that since he was the one who’d shown up on this woman’s doorstep, he was probably the one who should try to say something. All he could get out was a soft, “Hello,” in return, and his voice sounded much more hoarse than usual. “I- I thought I was the last one,” he said in a low voice.

There was another moment of silence, and then the woman’s face seemed to be filled with a new understanding. “Ah, you must be the Doctor? I’ll be honest, I never expected you to show up here.”

“You know of me? But Gallifrey…”

“Is gone,” she said in an equally quiet voice. “Would you like to come in? Have some tea?”

This situation was so bizarre that the Doctor half-expected to find out that it was just some dream brought on by a lonely mind. He tried not to think about how long it had been since he’d slipped into this new body, since he’d played god and decided the fate of an entire race of people. 

As he walked into the house, he saw that there were large stacks of books piled up precariously just about everywhere that there was space for them. He was led into a quaint little parler, which had tall bookcases lining most of the wall space, and saw a few other people sitting in the room. One of them looked at him curiously, while the other two didn’t seem surprised to see him. They were all Time Lords, and the Doctor didn’t understand how it could be possible. “How… How are you here? Who are you?”

The lady who’d greeted him at the door sat down in the seat across from him, and she nodded at one of the others in the room, who quickly left. Then she focused back on the Doctor. “I suppose the easier question to answer is that I’m… well, you can call me the Archivist, though I haven’t gone by my chosen name in a while. Not since there were people to call me by it. So please, forgive me if I don’t always react when you call for me.”

“The events of the Time War are locked. How did you all escape?” If this many could get away, then who else could slip out of the War and continue to cause problems? Who else could get away that the Doctor desperately wanted to see?

The Archivist sighed, and then gestured at the two other people still seated in the room, both of whom were watching the conversation with undisguised fascination. The Doctor looked at them, but then focused back on the one who was actually talking to him. “The events of the War are indeed locked, but I was never there at that time.”

The Doctor furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “But all Gallifreyans were called back to the planet to aid in the war effort.”

She nodded. “Yes, that’s true. My part, though, was not one to be played on the battlefield. I was sent away a little while before the end of the war, to this place. I was dropped off so that my TARDIS could still be utilized in the fight, and I have been here ever since. In some ways, you might say I’ve always been here. My title should tell you all you need to know. My task in life is, and always has been, to collect and record the entire history of Gallifrey, from the moment our planet spawned into existence, until the moment it ceases to be even a piece of rock floating in space. To prevent our long history from being forgotten, I alone was sent to safety in order to preserve it. The natural properties of this planet have protected me from being found, for the most part.”

The Doctor could only stare. He had never heard of this woman before, despite the very important job she had, and he regretted that they had never been able to meet sooner. He was old and knew a lot, but even he couldn’t claim to know all of the history of any one place. 

There were other things to think about at the moment, though, besides potential history lessons. “I assume when you say ‘for the most part’, you mean because these other Time Lords and Ladies have found their way here?”   


The Archivist’s eyes widened for a moment, and then she let out a soft laugh. “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you realized. Doctor, this home is filled with myself, every incarnation, all thirteen. Since I was sent here in my exile, I have had myself for company.”

The Doctor looked over at the other two in the room, and looked up when the third one came back in, carefully balancing a tray with two steaming teacups and a bowl each of milk and sugar. They laid it out carefully on the small coffee table that was in between the Doctor and his current conversation partner. Then they bowed their head once before hurrying off again. 

The Archivist laughed as she picked up the cup closest to her. “That one is my youngest self. They are still quite shy around new people, so don’t pay them too much worry.”

Even though she was obviously trying to act normal about all of this, the Doctor found it rather difficult to wrap his mind around it. All thirteen incarnations, living together in the same place, at the same time, permanently? On the few occasions where the Doctor encountered his own past or future selves, it generally devolved into arguments and dick-measuring contests. And while he did have plenty of issues, he also knew for a fact that many other Time Lords were the same with their other selves. It was hard to imagine being at enough peace with one’s entire life to be able to live out eternity in harmony like this. And maybe it made sense that the oldest and most mature would be able to do it, but even the youngest regenerations? It was completely mad to even consider, and yet, he had no reason not to believe that it was the truth.

“I think I’d go crazy locked up with only myself for company,” he admitted.

There was an amused gleam in the Archivist’s eyes. “Oh, don’t forget that we have an entire planet practically to ourselves. If you were to travel the globe, you’d find many empty houses. I go through different periods of just wanting some peace and quiet from myself, and all of us will live apart for a bit. But we always come back together in the end. Afterall, who could ever know us better than we know ourselves?”

It was a bit of a surprise when one of the other Archivist's spoke up. “Oi, and who said that I’m alone here? I did say that this place has stopped me from being found ‘for the most part’, didn’t I?”

“Well, yes, but I just assumed you meant me.”

The other Archivist rolled his eyes. “Someone thinks too highly of himself,” he muttered. 

The first one cleared her throat. “The point is that we do have another guest. She’s been here for a little while now, taking a bit of a vacation from some things that have happened. I’m pretty sure you two haven’t met yet, but you’d have to talk to one of my older selves to be sure.”

The Doctor frowned. “Why would your older selves know but you don’t, if you all live together? And anyways, wouldn’t it be easier to figure out if I know her by introducing us?”

She blinked like that idea hadn’t occurred to her, and then grinned as she hopped up to her feet. She clapped her hands together once. “Great, let’s do it! Not that I don’t love having her here, but the future has to happen eventually, right?” She nodded for the Doctor to follow her, and he obliged with only minor bemusement. They traveled throughout the house, passing many more books along the way. Then they entered what appeared to be a kitchen, though there were just as many books in there as in any other room. “Wait here, I’ll go get here.”

While his host was gone, the Doctor couldn’t refrain from being curious, and he got up to look at the books. He realized that all of them had been bound by hand, and that they had no titles, only numbers and letters that corresponded to some key the Doctor didn’t know. 

He grabbed a random book off the top of a nearby stack (and really, what kind of idiot stacked books next to a toaster?), and flipped it open. It didn’t take him long to realize that every book he looked at, and most likely every book in the entire house, were Gallifrey’s history. Written with all the dryness of a textbook, with only the occasional hint of the author’s humor peeking through. 

When someone stepped into the kitchen, the Doctor tried not to look too guilty as he looked up at the man standing in the doorway. “I was always a bit jealous of you,” he admitted with no provocation.

The Doctor tilted his head as he set down the book that was currently in his hands. “Why?”

The Archivist shrugged one shoulder. “My job has always been to record history, exactly as it happened. I know that that’s the general philosophy of the Time Lords anyways, but as the one in charge of writing it all down, it was even more essential that I never once interfere in even the slightest of ways. I basically lived out of my TARDIS from the moment I was old enough to pass my driving test. Never able to have a home base, never able to visit with my family or friends, only to watch over them. Never dying of anything more exciting than old age. It’s why all of my incarnations have always been together, because there was no point in doing it any other way. And then there’s you- the man who refused to follow the rules. The man who stole a TARDIS and went off on wild adventures throughout all of time and space, popping in whenever and wherever you wanted to, helping where you could, and being a part of everything. Do you even know how often you show up in my books?”  
The Doctor couldn’t hold back a soft chuckle at that. “I’m not sure I want to.”

The Archivist shrugged again. “Probably for the best anyways. Wouldn’t want to accidentally give anything away.”

The Doctor raised one eyebrow, and took a few steps closer to the Archivist. “What could there be left to give away? Gallifrey is gone. There is no future left for it. Your job should be over now.” When the Archivist didn’t immediately agree, the Doctor had no idea what to make of that. “What do you-?”

Before he could ask a question that probably wouldn’t get answered anyways, the version of the Archivist that he’d spoken to first returned, along with another woman who had bottle blonde hair and a brown jacket that didn’t seem her style at all. The moment she laid her eyes on the Doctor, she froze. “Doctor…?”

He looked her over carefully, but was certain that he’d never met her before. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think we’ve met yet,” he apologized.

A look of utter disappointment washed over her face, and even though the Doctor didn’t know her, he couldn’t help feeling guilty for being the one to put that look there. “Oh, right. We probably shouldn’t talk much, then. Wouldn’t want to mess things up for you.”

“If… if you’re looking for a future version of me, I could take you. I do have a TARDIS afterall.” He didn’t even know why he’d just offered that. After ending the War, he’d sworn to himself that he’d never take on another companion again, unable to risk any more blood on his hands.

For some reason, she seemed as surprised by the offer as he did, which might make sense if she already knew him. But then again, if they already knew each other, did that mean he’d end up taking on a new travel buddy despite what he’d promised himself? Most of the time, the Doctor didn’t care to know what was coming in his own personal future, but sometimes he felt like it was just so frustrating to not know. 

He was pretty sure that he and the blonde woman just looked at each other for far longer than was socially acceptable. Finally, he retracted the offer before she could reject it, which is obviously what she planned on doing. “Oh, nevermind then. I don’t need the fuss of someone else running around in my TARDIS anyways.” 

She gave him an apologetic look as she moved closer to him. “It’s not that I don’t want to, Doctor. It’s just that I…” she trailed off, biting her lip as she looked lost in thought for a moment. “I’ve already got someone coming by to pick me up soon.” Then she moved even closer, and reached out to gently slip her hand in his, threading their fingers together like it was the most natural thing in the world. “You’re not going to be alone for very long now, though, I promise you.”

When she finally stepped back, seemingly reluctant to do so, the Doctor took another long look at her. Something about her seemed so familiar, though he couldn’t figure out why. Then he finally realized it. Her jacket wasn’t just some ordinary thing. It was one that had been hanging in the Doctor’s wardrobe for many many years, a gift from Janis Joplin. 

This girl said that he wouldn’t be alone soon, was already waiting for a ride on this remote little planet, and was wearing a jacket that belonged to him. It seemed so impossible to even consider, yet what else could it really mean? “Who are you?” he blurted out before he could stop himself.

If she really did travel around with him, then she would know that she couldn’t tell him about his own future. She gave him a lovely smile before she answered. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

,,,

She was right, in a way. The moment the Doctor laid his eyes on her, he knew that there was no mistaking that laugh, that grin. So he was willing to invite her along twice, because if he didn’t it would make some kind of a paradox. And that was the only reason why.

Only he got worse and worse at convincing himself that that was the case, until the day he lost her, and wondered how it was possible. He knew for sure that Rose Tyler was the one he’d met in the Archivist’s house, and yet how could she be there if she was stuck in another universe?

He flew to the Archivist's planet, and was greeted by an old man who looked slightly grumpy and smelled slightly funny. “What are you doing here?”

“Is Rose here?”

The Archivist gave him a long look, then let out a sigh and shook his head. “No. And even if she was, you’re not the one she’s waiting for.”

The Doctor glanced down at the jacket he was wearing, the same one that Rose should be wearing, and knew that the other Time Lord was probably right. But it still filled him with hope, to know that someday he’d surely see Rose again, even if it would be with a different face. Before he could hurry off, he suddenly stopped and turned around, giving the old man an appraising look. “Gallifrey’s gone. There’s never going to be any new history for you to write. Don’t you think it’s time to go on a little adventure of your own?”

,,,

It wasn’t the same as having Rose around, but the Doctor found that there was something exhilarating all on its own about traveling with another Time Lord. It was certainly still strange to both his time sense and his ship to have so many versions of the same person at the same time, but the five who came with him made it so that there was a perfect amount of people to properly pilot the TARDIS.

The Archivist was so hesitant at first, clearly having trained themselves a long time ago to never do anything more than watch. And it didn’t help that they knew practically nothing about most of the places they visited. The Doctor found it endlessly exciting to explain everything to someone who was so much older than him, and it was obvious that the Archivist enjoyed these trips just as much as the Doctor did, if not more so.

,,,

Years passed, companions came and went, and the Doctor always knew where to go when he missed the feeling of having other Time Lords in his head. He changed faces, and he laughed, and cried, and loved, and raged, and then one day he showed up to find the Archivist grinning up at him. “Doctor, don’t forget to visit after the honeymoon.”

The Doctor almost snapped ‘What honeymoon?’, but he could only think of one that would be cause for so much celebration to his friend. His eyes widened, and he suddenly had to sit down, because he was sure that his legs would no longer support him. Even though he’d never once laid these particular eyes on Rose, and he had done his best to not think about her over the years, he knew that his feelings for her had never faded even a little bit. “She’s here?” he croaked out.

The Archivist’s smile dimmed slightly as she sat down next to the Doctor. “No, not yet. But something else is going to happen very soon, and it’s something that is thoroughly involved in. She’ll need some time to rest and recuperate after, and that’s when you’ll bring her here. I know that you won’t want to let her out of your sight, but I promise that I’ll take care of her here.” 

When he was back on his ship, the Doctor found himself pulling out an old jacket that he hadn’t touched since his previous pair of hands. It was repaired and dust free, in the perfect condition to gift to a certain someone. He draped it over the jumpseat in the console room, and waited impatiently for the day he’d meet her again.

,,,

The Doctor knocked impatiently on the Archivist’s door, and it swung open a moment later. The man standing there raised one eyebrow at him. The Doctor sighed, and wrapped his arm slightly tighter around Rose’s waist. She rolled her eyes, but also leaned more into him, so he knew that the touch wasn’t unwelcome. “You couldn’t have warned me that I’d find her helping me save Gallifrey instead of destroying it?”

The Archivist shrugged. “You know the rules as well as I do, Doctor. Come in, I’ll put on some tea.”

They all sat around in the parlor, sipping their tea in silence for a few minutes. The Doctor finally leaned forward, looking at the Archivist carefully. “We really did it? We really saved it? There’s really still more history for Gallifrey?”

The smile on the Archivist’s face was a small one, but the Doctor already knew that this version had trouble outwardly showing emotions, so he knew that the Archivist was more excited than he appeared to be. “Oh yes. You’ve never even been upstairs.”

The Doctor looked around in amazement as he followed the Archivist upstairs, and saw that there were somehow even more books up here than on the first floor. After the Archivist showed Rose to the room she’d be staying in for a few days, he left so that Rose and the Doctor could have some privacy before temporarily parting ways.

They reached out to hold each other’s hands, and look into each other’s eyes. “Rose Tyler, I love you.”

The beaming smile she gave him made everything else he’d ever been through completely worth it. “I love you too, my Doctor.” 

They continued to affirm their love for a few more minutes before the Doctor finally pulled away, knowing he needed to take Clara (who was still waiting in the TARDIS) home. He paused at the top of the stairs, though, and hurried back. “Oh- I almost forgot!” He reached into one of his larger on the inside pockets, and pulled out a folded up brown coat, which he thrust into Rose’s arms.

She carefully unfolded, and looked simultaneously fond and sad as she ran her fingers lightly over the seams. “For me?” The Doctor nodded, and went breathless when Rose actually put the jacket on. It was too long on her, with her fingers just barely poking out from the sleeves, but she looked absolutely brilliant, and the Doctor couldn’t even find the words to tell her. Rose laughed as she stood on her tiptoes to give him a brief kiss. “Thank you, Doctor. Now run along. I’ll be here when you get back, I promise.”   
,,,

When Gallifrey was finally saved, the Doctor insisted on dragging the Archivist (all of them) back. He helped his friend learn how to truly be a part of things instead of just watching from the outside, and was unbearably happy to see how well the Archivist took to being able to participate in life.

He was also quite pleased when he saw that Rose had already set aside thirteen seats for their second wedding. It was only fitting that the Archivist would get to be the guests of honor. 


End file.
